#SnowAngelsEverywhere

A few years ago Betony and I saw an art piece of a snow angel. But this one was done in some sort of sand that was glued together and up on a wall, making it look quite surreal. We thought, what a fun idea that’s filled with wonder and magic, that one could do a snow angel on a wall…

That led us to this idea. What if we did a prompt for each other? What if all over the nation, maybe the world, we asked folks to post pictures of themselves making snow angels in all sorts of crazy places and crazy ways (maybe not even using snow)?

So here’s the Instagram challenge. Take a photo of a snow angel: standard, creative, and anywhere in-between. Post it on instagram and use the hashtag #SnowAngelsEverywhere and we’ll enjoy the collection together.

What are the wonders of the area in which you live? Sometimes just recognizing the great places in your town, whether they’re restaurants, museums, natural wonders, or events can reinvigorate love for your home. The question we’ve been asking ourselves as we put our list together is, “Where would we take someone if they were visiting? or just moved here?”

Perhaps post a poll online for your local Facebook friends and come up with a list of 7 or 8 for your own city. Make a point to visit each of those places this month. Take some pictures and use the hashtag #wondersofmycity

For our 7 Wonders of Greeley, Colorado we had to split it into three different categories: places, events, and restaurants! These are places both very popular in our town, but then also have sentimental value to us:

Places:

1. Centenial Village (the hidden gem of Greeley where Betony and I were married!)

For our June Almanac we did a photo challenge called “mundania”. It was all about finding the majestic in the mundane. The photo prompts included things like laundry, dishes, favorite place to sit, pet, etc. (To see some of the photos we loved and highlighted go here or here. Or look up the hashtag #mundania on Instagram.)

It was tough to choose the winning photo. Below are the runner’s up. They will each receive a FREE limited edition art print from Almanac. Then above is the winner and she will receive 3 FREE limited edition art prints from Almanac and a copy of the album!

Above: Naomi Boyer submitted several great photos for #mundania. We LOVED this picture. It’s composition is beautiful, it gives you a sense of nostalgia, and the subject of “everyday life and play” is strongly captured. It’s a photograph you’d see on Instagram and stop for a moment because you’re arrested over the fact that our normal, everyday life is quite remarkable.

Below: Katrina Steele submitted several beautiful and well composed photos. This one was so clean. She made laundry and everyday chores look beautiful.

Below: We don’t personally know Andrea Mouser from Louisiana, but we know she’s married to a chef. And we know she can take an engaging and joyful photo of just a pile of dishes. What a great picture!

Many thanks to everyone who participated. What a great thing to get to witness. Enjoy your common (not so common) summer!

Here’s another week in pictures for our Instagram game called #mundania. We’ve all been posting pictures that deal with seeing the majestic in the mundane or the uncanny in the common- recognizing just how miraculous this “normal” life is.

Below are some highlights. The “best in show” that we choose at the end of the month will be winning 3 limited-edition art prints from Giants & Pilgrims! Thanks and keep posting.

We’re doing a contest where people post photos catching everyday, normal things, but acknowledging those things as beautiful- the uncanny in the common, the noble in the nominal. You can read more about it here.

Here’s some of our favorites so far that people have posting on Instagram and Facebook! These photos are definitely in the running for the BEST OF prize that we’ll choose at the end of the contest, June 30th.

Keep the pictures coming, everyone! It’s quite wonderful to see glimpses into everyone’s everyday life and the true beauty that resides there.

Here’s a June photo-challenge that we are turning into a contest! Do you see the majestic in the mundane? the uncanny in the common? the beauty in the everyday?

Follow the prompts given for June (enough has been given that it could be daily, but you don’t have to have a photo for each one…) and bring out just how special life is; even in the normal, so-called boring moments. Do your best to make these prompts into captures of beauty.

Use the hashtag #mundania to share these pictures.

The BEST IN SHOW photo, judged by Tim & Betony Coons and Wes Sam-Bruce, will win 3 limited-edition art prints from Almanac No. 1!

In the past few weeks as we tell people we are going to Iceland for our 10 year anniversary we get two reactions. The first is the usual excitement over a big trip. The second is confusion settling in.

“Why in the world would you want to go to Iceland?”

It’s a great question. And my answer is fairly unrefined and open. But I wanted to share it here.

It’s not about Iceland.

The place and trip really is secondary in our minds.

Really, Betony asked me if there was any place significant and meaningful I wanted to go for this big 10 year marker. I couldn’t think of anyplace. I gave a half-thought answer, “I’ve always wanted to try and see the northern lights”. That’s all it took. She started looking up Iceland travels and seeing how stark and beautiful the country is.

No, it’s not about Iceland. This trip is first about the importance of having a marker, a large gesture, to celebrate and recognize this point in our relationship.

Because I’d honestly be just as happy to have a week-long jaunt in Denver with my wife. But I completely recognize this: It’s important to tell a great story. And it’s important to have a grander gesture for the grander moments in our lives.

For example, I didn’t want to go to my college graduation. My parents made me and I’m so happy I have the memory of that weekend with them.

And I’d have been happy to elope with a couple friends. I’m so glad our wedding was a spectacular affair with friend and family surrounding us.

In my life I want to make sure and do this. I want to take the time, energy, finances and celebrate things right. When we do this it creates alters and markers in our minds of the important event. It creates a place we can return to that is large and grand in our memories. It’s a bright past that propels us forward when we need the reminder.

The writer Phyllis Tickle writes and talks about the rhythms of family. It’s in our rhythms that our values are passed to our children and we live out what we believe. She points out three major rhythms, putting it this way:

The Table: it’s where we daily gather together, pray, break bread, share stories
The Synagogue: is where we weekly lean on each other, encounter God, talk about the most important things
The Pilgrimage: is the great trip to Jerusalem, done yearly or only a few times in a lifetime, the unifying event

As I process taking this trip to Iceland with my wife, I’m thinking of it as a Pilgrimage.

It’s something you only once in a lifetime. It’s to celebrate this woman I love so deeply. It’s to create bright memories that I can return to when the path forward gets difficult.

That’s my answer. That’s why we’re going to Iceland.

https://giantsandpilgrims.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/dust-of-snow.jpg28882448Betony Coonshttp://s28969.p27.sites.pressdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/gianstandpilgrimslogov2-1024x196.pngBetony Coons2014-03-26 21:56:162014-08-15 16:39:55"Why We are going to Iceland" or The Table, the Synagogue, and the Pilgrimage